Sixers guard Jared McCain is ‘on pace’ to be ready for training camp

Jared McCain’s plan is to “for sure” be ready for training camp after a meniscus injury cut his rookie season short.

“Anything can happen, but for right now, I’m on pace,” McCain said Tuesday as the 76ers and Flyers unveiled signage for the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

McCain, the Sixers’ 2024 first-round pick from Duke, was one of the Sixers’ few bright spots last season, averaging 15.3 points and shooting 38.3% from three-point range in just 23 games. Prior to the injury, he quickly worked his way into the starting rotation and earned NBA rookie of the month honors in November.

» READ MORE: Xfinity Mobile Arena signage officially unveiled outside former Wells Fargo Center

The Sixers kick off their preseason on Oct. 2 in Abu Dhabi against the Knicks, and start the regular season on Oct. 22 against the Boston Celtics. McCain hopes to be full-go by then.

“I think right now, it’s just kind of taking it day by day,” said McCain. “I’m getting on-court, doing a lot of stuff, a lot of live stuff, but I still have to talk to them about exactly if I’m free for everything, but I’m definitely getting there.”

While McCain is entering his second NBA season, he still feels like one of the rookies because of injury. Standing alongside No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe, McCain joked that the veterans are going to keep calling him “rook” and forcing him to do the rookie chores until he hits 82 games — which is still 59 games away.

In just the short time McCain was on the court, he got a taste of the NBA schedule grind, which was his toughest adjustment from college.

“I think the biggest adjustment was probably just the pace was different, for sure, but a lot of it was just adjusting to the travel,” McCain said. “There’s so many games, and I only played 23, I think, so in that short time, we’re traveling, back-to-backs, so I got to get used to that.”

McCain and Edgecombe have formed a friendship as they spend time in Philly preparing for the upcoming season, getting meals and going shopping together. McCain’s also been learning Spanish this summer, although he hasn’t had time to keep playing the piano since he went back to Los Angeles to rehab his injury. Meanwhile, Edgecombe is taking Mandarin lessons.

But they’re also helping each other as McCain aims to get back on the court, and Edgecombe adjusts to the NBA. The latter got a taste of it in summer league. Still, Edgecombe played just two games and he expects the NBA regular season to be a different beast.

“That’s a different level of basketball,” Edgecombe said. “The NBA plays a lot faster. You’ve got to make decisions a lot quicker, but it’s a good bump at all times.”

The young Sixers “rookies” don’t have a group name yet, but they are in the market for something similar to the Phillies’ “Daycare.”

“The ’Daycare,’ that’s kind of tough,” McCain said. “I didn’t know they had that. That’s kind of tough. Not that we know of. Work in progress.”